2004 Toyota Prius: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Apr 2, 2022 · Acceleration · TX

I need your help to get Toyota to fix 2 items: -ABS Accumulator: I understand Toyota at one time had a recall on the ‘ABS Accumulator’, that may have expired. At that time, I did not have any issue, nor was I aware of the recall. Now the ‘ABS Accumulator’ has gone out and is really hurting the braking. I had to get new brakes & they get locked because of the ABS malfunction. It is an expensive item – more than the cost of the car. I intend to keep the car for a long time, if Toyota can help me get the ABS Accumulator fixed? -MFD: The Multi-Functional Display (MFD) in the middle of the dashboard, has gone blank. It used to just partially blank out before, but now the whole screen is blank all the time, making it very hazardous to drive. Obviously, there is nothing I have done & it is a manufacturing defect, because it should last the life of the car. Please have Toyota fix the 2 problems (ABS & MFD). All requests to Toyota have gone unfulfilled. Your help is needed & will be greatly appreciated.

Filed Feb 17, 2022 · Brakes · TX

ABS failure. Won't pressurize. Anti-lock brakes quit working.

Filed May 21, 2019 · Brakes · 190,000 miles · FL

When driving down the road all of a sudden we tried to use the brakes and it felt like we only had 10% of our braking ability. The brake light came on and ABS light went on and the stability control light came on as well as a warning buzzer. It felt like we had manual brakes.

Filed Feb 7, 2019 · Brakes · 111,000 miles · MD

While driving, the ABS, vcs and red brake light all came on. Had it towed to the dealership and was told the brake actuator needed to be replaced for $3,000. It was diagnosed as: replace brake accumulator assy. (brake accumulator assy. Leak/ low pressure (c1256, c1391))

Filed Jan 27, 2019 · Driver assistance · 10 miles · FL

Abs actuator failures. Effecting the braking.

Filed Aug 6, 2018 · Brakes · 147,000 miles · NJ

I was driving my 2004 toyota prius on the highway there were 5 passengers in the car including me. Suddenly there was a loud alarm in the car. It was a loud beep. The breaks completely failed. When I stepped on the breaks they did not react. I was going 65 miles an hour on the highway and thankfully we were not going down hill. I used the engine brake and pressed really hard on the breaks to bring the car to a stop on an off-ramp. Since I weight 300 pounds I could put all my weight into the brakes and finally brought it to a stop. If my wife was driving we would have crashed. The whole episode took like 3 minutes. It was agonizing because I thought we were going to crash against other cars because I had no way of informing them that I had no brakes. The idea of going in the ramp was trying to minimize the damage to other people. The alarm continues when I turned on the car. I took the the car to the dealership and they said that the actuator was the culprit. They told me it was a matter of time. I was sitting on a faulty part. They said it was on a warranty and not on a recall so they could have only fixed it if it failed and I was too late for the fix. The warranty expired on december 31, 2017. In other words, my 147,700 miles toyota is essentially totaled. The fix cost more than the value of the car. They told me to disable the ABS and I would be ok. A mavis brake mechanic tells me not risk it. I always took my toyota to service at toyota dealerships. They never mentioned the recall in spite of the fact that the brake light was on. When they performed the oil change the light would turn off for several weeks and then turn on. I could have killed myself in the car. I feel lucky that nothing happened. I am looking for a mechanic to fix the problem but it is hard to find independent hybrid mechanics. Toyota wants to charge $2800

Filed Jul 3, 2018 · Brakes · 203,859 miles · CT

Abs brake actuator assembly has failed. I'm getting the red brake light with the loud constant beeping tone in car. The rear brakes are only being activated and I can barely stop.

Filed Apr 11, 2018 · Brakes · 153,800 miles · CA

Takata recall. My car's break lights went on, as well as the ABS and vsc warning lights. Strange noises are coming from inside the hood of the car due to that. I also feel like my car does not break properly.

Filed Mar 29, 2018 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 72,436 miles · CA

My prius suddenly had a 70 to80% loss of brake power. My parking brake light came on along with the ABS, vcs, the red triangle and a load buzzer. If this had happened at highway speed I could have rear-ended or killed someone. After turning my car off and letting it sit the lights stayed off. This concerns me because it could lead to a false sense there's nothing wrong. I took my car to the dealer and they seemed to know right away it was the ABS brake actuator code c1256. I did some digging and it seems this is a very common problem and yet it's not a recall issue. I want everybody to know this is a safety issue. My prius was bought new by my senior parents, they kept it garaged and only had 45000. Miles on it when I bought it from there estate. At the time the malfunction AC cured it still only has 72456. Miles on it. For a part to malfunction with such little miles to me indicates a very serious defect. In motion going straight driving at 25 MPH residential street.

Filed Jul 5, 2015 · Brakes · 268,000 miles · PA

As I was going down a hill the ABS vsc brake light came on and the brakes failed. The pedal became mush and I lost power braking. This caused me to almost hit the car in front of me. I swerved to the side of the road and pulled off the shoulder just missing the guard rail. I have found out that toyota knows about this faulty problem and now they dealership wants to charge 3,000 to fix it.

Filed Nov 16, 2014 · Brakes · 93,268 miles · GA

Brake light and ABS light still on after release the brake pedal .

Filed Jun 5, 2013 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · FL

I was traveling on i95 when all the brake warning lights came on (ABS, brake, etc.). I tried to slow down the car, but the brakes didn't seem to work. Finally, the regen system kicked in, and slowed the car. When I jammed my foot hard on the brake pedal, the car stopped with a jerk. This is not the first time this has happened. The first time it happened (when all the lights came on), I brought the car to the dealer (kendall toyota), they reset and recalibrated the computers in the car, and everything seemed ok. About 9 months later, the same thing happened. This time, the ABS computer had a hard failure. They replaced it with a low mileage used part, and everything seemed fine for about 3 months. Then it happened again last thursday. Brought it into kendall toyota on thursday evening, and on friday they told me the I needed a new ABS computer. Turns out toyota knows about this problem and has redesigned the ABS computer, but never sent out any notice to their customers. This is why the used part didn't last long. This a very dangerous situation and I could have easily been in a serious accident if I had not experienced faulty braking in the past (see below). A new ABS computer plus installation from toyota cost approximately $3000. The symptoms I was having when I reported complaint # 10292409 were identical to those above, except that no indicator lights came on. They car did not want to stop (and even seemed to "run away") until I jammed my foot on the brake. Searching the internet, this seems to be a common problem with prius.